Enchanted
by DharmaMotorPool
Summary: "The song's lyrics swirled through his head, as if daring him to approach her. So he did." Bit o' fluff, set after Canary's Song.


**A/N: Yep. You guessed it. F-L-U-F-F. And all inspired by a Taylor Swift song, too. I'm so cheesy. Can't help it, though. I live in the Dairy State. *shrug* Hehe. Enjoy this :)**

_There I was again tonight, forcing laughter, faking smiles, same old tired, lonely place. Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes, and vacancy vanished when I saw your face. All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you._

The song began to float through the room during another boring benefit that Gillian had insisted they go to. She stood on the other side of the dance floor, making small talk with a man who slightly resembled Santa Claus, minus the heavy beard. She looked entirely disinterested, and he found himself amused by her expressions, wondering why the man wasn't taking her hints. Then he remembered that, clearly, not _everyone_ was so adept at reading faces and body language. __

_Your eyes whispered "have we met?" Across the room, your silhouette starts to make its way to me. The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes in secrecy. And it was enchanting to meet you. All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you._

He watched her, almost mesmerized, until her gaze met his. She flashed him a smile – a _genuine_ one that went all the way to her eyes – and he smiled back genuinely, the way he did only when he was with her or his daughter. The song's lyrics swirled through his head, as if daring him to approach her. So he did.

"Have we met?" he asked jokingly, as he'd done at the museum gala weeks before.

"Don't you have more than one pick-up line?" she asked with an amused grin.

He held out his hand, "Dance, Ginger? There's music this time," he offered.__

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you.  
_

A kind of glow shone across her face when she smiled this time, and she nodded in agreement, taking his hand as the song hit its chorus. He spun her around before pulling her into his arms, and she laughed, resting her left hand on his shoulder. They swayed in time to the music, nervously avoiding each others' eyes, as though they were two teenagers engaged in their very first slow dance.

Things had been different between them lately. First, there was the dispute over the finances. Then, Wallowski had caused the rift to widen, and after that, Naomi and his cat-and-mouse game had seemed to push them even further apart. It wasn't something he could tolerate, not with her. She was his constant.

That night on the balcony outside his office had seemed to change things again, in another way. Her guard had been down, what with the copious amounts of alcohol in her system, and he'd seen something that night that he hadn't expected. Usually, he had a difficult time reading her, but her emotions had been clearly written on her face that night. He was still trying to process it all; to figure out what he should do about it.

___The lingering question kept me up, 2a.m., who do you love? I wonder till I'm wide awake. Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door. I'd open up and you would say, "It was enchanting to meet you." All I know is I was enchanted to meet you._

She had noticed the change, as well. Even inebriated, she'd read something on him that she hadn't before. Gratitude, mixed with something slightly resembling…love. Their entire exchange may have been a bit hazy in her memory now, but she clearly remembered thinking that he'd been about to kiss her, though at the last second, he'd pulled away. She'd gone home that night, wondering what might have happened had she been sober. Would he have dared even let it go that far? Did he only pull away because he thought her judgment was impaired? Was the entire thing only in her head? __

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew. This night is flawless, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you.  
_

Those questions still hadn't been answered, but as he spun her around the dance floor, she thought she caught a glimpse of what she'd seen on the balcony. Too timid to say anything, she let it go and continued to sway with him until the song faded away. He reluctantly released her, "Well, I suppose we could call it a night then, eh?"

She nodded, giving him a smile that he couldn't quite read. "I'll see you Monday," she said, leaning forward and placing a quick, gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Night, love," he told her softly, a half-grin on his lips.

"Love?" she asked, feigning confusion, "We just met," she teased, a grin spreading across her features.

He laughed genuinely at that, leaning towards her. For a moment, she found herself bracing for the impact of his lips against her own, but, once again, it never happened. "Goodnight, Gillian," he said in a hushed voice, kissing her cheek just as quickly as she'd kissed his.

"Goodnight, stranger," she bade him, her expression still unreadable by him. He cursed this, and at the same time, he was grateful for it. He wasn't entirely sure he _wanted_ to know what was going through her head, but still…curiosity.

___This is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again. These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you. Please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you. Please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you._

They went their separate ways, each heading back to an empty house, yet their thoughts were still centered on one another. She was certain she'd only been imagining it. She must have been. She wasn't his type, not by a long shot. She wasn't dangerous, or exotic. She didn't possess any of the qualities he found so attractive in other women. For all she knew, he was still seeing Wallowski, or was off in search of his next 'Naomi'…but she hoped like hell that that wasn't true.

The song they'd danced to was stuck in her head, and it played there on repeat for the remainder of the night, even as she laid in bed, trying to find sleep. She replayed the entire dance in her mind; each word he'd said, each expression he'd shown, and she tried to piece it together, but the puzzle didn't seem to fit. His words said one thing, his face said another, and his actions…well, who knew how to read those? __

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew. This night is flawless, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you._

_Rap, rap, rap._ The sound of knocking jolted her back to reality, and she rolled out of bed, shuffling to the door. "Cal?" She wasn't that surprised to find him on the other side of it, but just the same, it was unexpected. "It's almost 1:00, what are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if you knew," he began with a grin, stepping inside the house, "I was enchanted to meet you, Gillian," he told her, and with that confession, he leaned in for the third time in as many days, but this time, he didn't pull away, nor did she let him. Their lips met, arms wrapped around each other, and feelings they didn't quite know how to express in words were finally understood. __

_Please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you._


End file.
